April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
Documentary on priest debuts on WMHT
A WMHT public affairs special, "Upstate Edition Extra," featuring Father Young and two participants in his program, will follow from 9 to 9:30 p.m. (and will repeat at 11:30 p.m. on Sept. 10).
The documentary was produced by Family Theater Productions, founded by the late Rev. Patrick Peyton, CSC, whose family prayer ministry began in Albany.
Recovery
"Glidepath to Recovery" tells how tens of thousands of addicts and former prisoners throughout New York State have reclaimed their lives and become healthy, employed, tax-paying citizens because of Father Young's program.The film introduces viewers to Father Young, and to many men and women of his recovery community, who share their dramatic stories.
The title is taken from Father Young's belief that offenders being released from prison -- 80 percent of whom are addicted to drugs or alcohol -- need a "glidepath" to make a safe landing in society, much like a Navy pilot needs visual help in landing safely on an aircraft carrier swaying in a rocky sea.
Three elements
His "glidepath" includes three components: recovery, housing and jobs. These are offered through addiction-recovery programs and counseling sessions; a shelter for addicted mothers and their children, and transitional housing; and several businesses, including two full-service motels, seven cafeterias, two fried-chicken franchises, restaurants, a floral/boutique shop and a convenience store.These facilities are run and staffed by ex-offenders and recovering addicts, and operate under the non-profit PYHIT, Inc. (Peter Young Housing, Industries & Treatment).
The program details how Father Young, pastor of Blessed Sacrament parish in Bolton Landing, struggles to raise funds from government social service and entitlement programs, and through fundraising to support his efforts.
Successful
Preliminary findings of ongoing research by the School of Criminal Justice at the University at Albany suggest that as many as 92 percent of the program's graduates are not re-incarcerated.Those featured in the documentary include a former offender who spent more than 25 years in prison and a former assistant attorney general for New York whose alcohol addiction left him jobless and homeless.
Father Young's motto is "Rehabilitate; don't incarcerate," reflecting his conviction that prisons don't work, but recovery and rehabilitation do.
(The public is invited to a screening party for "Glidepath to Recovery," Sept. 8, 7:30-10 p.m., at the Schuyler Inn in Menands. Father Young and others featured in the documentary will attend. For information, call 465-8034.)
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